All That's Left
by Everwild
Summary: Slade removes Robin from the Brotherhood's clutches shortly before he would have been frozen. He tells him that his friends are now gone and that his previous way of life has become obsolete, that all that is left for him is the apprententiceship. He lies
1. All The Monsters Lurking in the Dark

**_A/N_**: Sooo, here's the prologue for my most recent story, All That's Left. I've been debating on and off whether I should post this or wait a little longer because I'm still working on my other story (Gone to Madness for any of you Harry Potter fans).

In a backwards, twisted kind of way, this was inspired by Wynja's amazing story, 2060, or at least my musings about said story. *sigh* You'll see what I mean later on I suppose. If not, I'll explain it when we get there.

Read on,

_**A/N2: **_Slight modifications made as of _9/10/2010_. Not a huge deal or anything, I just changed some of the wording to flow more easily.

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All That's Left

Prologue

Robin glared angrily around his small prison, panting after his last failed attempt to break the glass. There was no way out, no cracks, no weak points. It seemed that the Brotherhood of Evil had left no room for error in their plans and the keeping of the Titans' leader.

He sighed and sank to the floor, cross-legged with his palms pressed angrily to his masked eyes, trying to just _think; _there had to be a way out of this - no plan was completely fail-safe as countless had proved before now. Perhaps Beast Boy and the few heroes that had yet to be caught could pull a rescue plan together and stop this from happening.

Robin glanced around the dark room outside the glass unhappily. Bruce had once told him that, were he to be captured and in an unfamiliar place, the first step to formulating an escape plan was to examine his surroundings and commit them to memory.

He could see nothing outside of the illuminated cylinder he was trapped in and he had no idea where he was. Madam Rouge had knocked him out for the trip from the Brain's main room, where he had been presented with his friends' unconscious bodies, to this… cell and he had woken up about twenty minutes ago with a roaring headache, in the same predicament he found himself now, only slightly less exhausted. He could be buried underground for all he knew.

Regardless, he looked up and scanned the room once more with tired eyes and - his entire body froze as he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, a shifting shadow, a glint of light reflected off of some metal, about six feet above the ground. Someone or something was in here with him.

"Who's there?" he demanded, jumping to his feet in a ready battle stance, instantly alert. "Show yourself!"

"…"

"…Why, Robin, I expected better of you…"

Robin's eyes widened comically at the sound of the man's voice, unable to completely hide his shock, then narrowed in anger.

"Slade." he growled, "Why are you here?"

Slade ignored his question and continued, "Completely helpless in the midst of your enemies, when your dear _friends _need you the most, the little bird finally caught in a cage. It's almost poetic."

Robin glared. "If you're just here to brag, you might as well clear out now. Plenty of people have already beaten you to it and I'm getting kind of tired of the same bad puns."

"Then I suppose I'll spare you. No need to be redundant." Slade chuckled. He was obviously enjoying the situation immensely. Robin rolled his eyes.

"So, what, are you working with the Brotherhood too then?"

Slade actually laughed at that. "Dear boy, I have absolutely no interest in the little plot the Brotherhood of Evil has cooked up for you here. No doubt it'll make my job easier to have all the little children rounded up nice and neatly for me, but I have my own plans already set in motion." Slade paused, malicious triumph coming off him in waves.

"No, Robin, I have come here for the sole purpose of serving _my own _devices. _You're _here after all." Robin could practically hear the smirk behind the mask.

"What do you mean?" he asked, uneasiness creeping up his spine. His utility belt had been taken from him, he had no weapons, and he was completely and utterly trapped. The other Titans were either busy fighting off the torrent of villains that had come after them or already frozen, unable to help him if things here went too far. Slade was right: he had allowed himself to be made defenseless.

"Oh, the usual…"

Suddenly, Robin heard the _tap, tap, tap _of fingers on a keyboard, could see a glint of light, and there was a mechanical hiss followed by several beeps growing in frequency and a red flashing light. Robin's heart skipped a beat.

"What did you just do? What do you _want?" _Robin pounded a fist angrily into the glass, furious at his own helplessness. He couldn't believe he'd gotten himself and all of his friends into this mess. If he hadn't given the imposter Hotspot that communicator, the Brain wouldn't have been able to track their every move, stop their every plan, and capture so many of them. It was all his fault.

"You'll find out soon enough, Robin." Slade said silkily, a small laugh at the end betraying his amusement.

Something was wrong. A strange smell was drifting up from beneath his feet, filling his cell with the pungent fumes. Robin coughed once… twice.

The air within the cylinder was quickly thickening and had turned a faint, sickly yellow as billowing clouds of the gas drifted up from the vent in the floor. Slade was going to poison him! An outburst of hacking coughs tore from his throat before Robin seized the edge of his cape and clapped it over his mouth and nose in an effort to filter some of the gas.

"What - is this?" he gasped, choking and gagging. He could no longer see past the yellow gas to the darkness that lay outside his prison. He couldn't see his own hand. Completely enveloped in the thick stuff, Robin felt his heart rate pick up once more as small amount of claustrophobia seeped into his mind.

"A simple knock-out agent. Should be harmless." Slade was sounding far too smug for Robin to feel reassured by his words. And even if he wasn't lying, the last thing Robin needed was to be unconscious in his hated enemy's hands, at the man's mercy.

"Why - do I have the feeling - I can't trust your word?" Robin fell to his knees no longer able to support his own weight under the onslaught of a painful coughing fit.

"Relax, Robin. I have no reason to kill you. The Brotherhood of Evil would have easily done that themselves shortly if I hadn't come along and _saved _you." Slade walked calmly up to the glass and knelt beside him on the other side of that thin layer, grey eye narrowed in satisfaction. Robin could only see a dark shadow.

"No, I have much bigger plans for you, my boy, _much _bigger."

Blackness was gathering at the edges of his vision and Robin absently tried to blink it away, moaning his discomfort. His arms and legs felt like so much jello, unwilling to obey the commands his brain was screaming at them. The contaminated air was straining on his lungs, sliding down his now raw throat in painful bubbles.

At long last, he lay unmoving on the floor but for his wrenching spasms as the last dregs of consciousness were forcefully pulled from him and he finally gave in, allowing the darkness to swamp his mind. Robin welcomed it, the promise of oblivion, of escaping his agonized body even temporarily.

The last words he heard before he felt himself slip away chilled him to his very core: "Don't worry, Robin. I'm sure that with time _'you'll learn to like it.'"_

Then there was nothing.

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**_A/N_**: Well, there you go. Drop me a review if you enjoyed it or even if you think there's something I could do to improve it. I'm all ears.

Until next time, Everwild out


	2. In the Clouds

**A/N:** M'kay, this is actually, like, a really fast update for me as plenty of other readers will attest to *wince*. But really I'm actually quite proud of myself all things considered. Normally it takes me forever to edit and stuff (the reason for the relatively short chapters and long waits between updates), but actually, it was really easy writing drugged out Robin. Slade, on the other hand... grrr. From Robin's point of view, it's not too bad, but Slade's pov is just - just - GAH! I'm going to kill him!

Enough of my rambling already. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, by the way. You guys rock!

Aw cripes, I forgot the disclaimer on the prologue didn't I? *checks* Yup, yup I did. Bad, bad Everwild!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable from Teen Titans, in this chapter OR the prologue. So there!

Anywho, here ya guys go! Enjoy

Revised as of 8/5/2010. Really, it's not much, just a few things I wasn't happy with.

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_**Chapter 1: In the Clouds**_

…

…

…

… For the longest time, there was only quiet, only the pitch darkness swirling out from the previously untouched corners of his mind, only the absence of pain and the blissful ignorance of unconsciousness…

…

…

…

… Then the dreams - the nightmares - came to him, inevitable and unrelenting…

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"_Who knows? I may even become like a father to you…"_

_The gears and cogs clicked away in the background, swallowed up in the shadows. The four screens showing the inside of his friends' bodies cast an eerie red glow._

"_I already have a father."_

_On the roof of one of Wayne Enterprise's many branches, Slade's weapon lifted and fired up, pointed straight at Starfire's heart. God, he didn't want to do this._

"_Robin, you are my best friend, and I cannot live in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil, then go ahead, do what you must…"_

_He couldn't do this._

"_Robin, calm down, we just want to talk!" Cyborg, one of his best friends…_

"_I guess there's nothing to talk about." Beastboy, angry, ready to attack __**him**__._

_Then they were hurting, they were dying because of him - no! Because of Slade. Screaming and burning… he didn't want this, he had never meant for this to happen._

_Everything he didn't want to be, everything he had fought against since the day he took that vow years ago in a dark cave, everything he hated… he had become._

_So disappointed, so disappointed in me… Bruce, I- I wish… I've let him down. God, he's going to hate me, won't even be able to look at me now. Nothing more than a common criminal._

_For them, it's all for them, but they don't even know… they think this is who I really am, a thief, a liar. Traitor._

_So, so tired… Slade's hand tangled in his hair, yanking and pulling. I want to punch his sadistic face in!_

"_All my knowledge, all my power, all for you… and all you care about are your worthless. __**little. FRIENDS!"**_

"_I am the evil that haunts every dark corner of your mind."_

_I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not going crazy!… I'm __**losing**__ my __**mind**__…_

_A flash of orange and black, vanishing almost before he could recognize its presence. Driving him insane._

_I'm __**nothing**__ like him! I'm not!…_

_No,_

_**No,**_

_**NO!**_

…

…

… Silence again, blessed, sweet silence… no more dreams.

…

…

…

… There was pain… all over… he was dead, he knew he was dead.

…

…

… Every inch of him hurt, not terribly so, but he still felt positively wretched. His throat was the worst of it, throbbing, burning, so hard to swallow. The inside of his mouth felt like sandpaper. Each and every breath was agony, scraping against his throat, drying his parched tongue. Perhaps he was alive after all.

Robin moaned but didn't dare open his eyes. His head felt so very heavy, and his mind was all muzzy, his dreams still flickering behind his eyes. There was no way in hell he was going anywhere, and why would he even want to? Whatever it was he was laying on was perfectly fine for the time being, his limbs felt like lead, dragging him down. He couldn't move an inch if he tried.

Something warm touched the side of his face, fingers gently carding through his hair… It felt _sooooo_ good, so nice, like his mother was there beside him, silently soothing him as he fought off a fever. He could picture her perfectly, perched on the edge of his bed, a sad little smile, warm eyes watching him.

He sighed, wincing slightly as the air rushed harshly over his tender throat.

"Almost there, my apprentice…" The words didn't even register in Robin's mind, nor the familiar voice that spoke them.

Unconsciously, Robin leaned his head towards the hand that was petting him, enjoying the light tingling feeling that spread down his spine at the touch, raising goosebumps on his arms and neck. _"Mmmm…" _he sighed, utterly content.

He heard a light chuckle _- Who was laughing at him? _he thought, indignantly_ - _and then the hand went away, leaving him feeling a little colder than before. _No, come back…_

…

…

There was some sort of white noise in the background, so loud, beating against his eardrums. How had he missed it before now?

Awareness trickled in slowly… That sound… An engine? Where was he?

Robin opened his eyes, peeling them open one at a time, wincing at the painfully bright light that was all around him. Another groan.

"Welcome back, my boy." He knew that voice, he knew it from somewhere… The thought faded quickly from his mind, forgotten only a moment later.

When his eyes had adjusted properly, he realized that he was actually strapped upright in a chair in the back of a cockpit. Odd, he could've sworn he'd been laying down.

Slade was sitting in the seat to the front and across from his, leisurely steering the plane through the clouds. The man turned back and looked right at him, cold grey eye sparkling maliciously, piercing him straight through.

Robin attempted to lift his head into a more dignified and comfortable position, but immediately let it fall back against the seat with a dull _thud _when the world started to spin dizzyingly around him, bringing to focus his rolling stomach. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Don't push yourself, Robin. The gas is still working its way out of your system, and I'm afraid I can't allow you to stay awake too long anyway." Slade's smooth voice reached him through a long tunnel, fuzzy and quiet. Robin felt absolutely miserable.

He saw Slade flip a switch up front and a green light came on. The man stood and came over to sit beside him, rifling quickly through the contents of a duffle bag lying on the floor. He removed a little brown bottle and shook it slightly, squinted at the label for a moment before he moved in, looming over him where Robin sat drugged and immobile.

Robin didn't like him so close! This man had done terrible things - _terrible _things to him… if only he could remember what they were.

"_Ungh_… _nnooo…" _he mumbled, the words coming out slurred and garbled, "_D-don'… mmmm…wannenny…" _His tongue was a heavy, fleshy weight in his mouth, so difficult to get it to move the way he wanted. He was tired of talking, he just wanted to get away.

"Just relax, Robin. I'd really rather you didn't struggle: it'll make this much easier for you if you don't." said Slade calmly, watching him, "Less painful for you as well."

Panic squeezed Robin's heart as Slade popped the lid off the tiny bottle and brought it right up to his slack mouth. At the cool touch, Robin instantly sealed his lips shut, shaking his head slightly from side to side. He tried to shuffle back, to move away from whatever poison was in that bottle, but he just couldn't. His body felt so heavy.

Slade laughed quietly, amused. When would the boy _learn?_

Indifferent, he shrugged. "So be it."

A large black clad hand clamped around Robin's jaw and yanked him around so that he was facing the dark, blurry man beside him. No! Unforgiving fingers dug into his cheeks, forced him to open his mouth enough for Slade to pour a dribble of the clear, bitter liquid inside. Robin held the stuff on his tongue, refusing to allow it to slide down his throat and do God-knows-what to him.

Adjusting his position, Slade moved to hold his mouth tightly and ruthlessly shut while his other hand darted forward and pinched his nose. Suffocating, eyes watering, Robin swallowed and Slade released him.

"Good boy."

He frowned. God, how Robin hated that voice. He didn't want to hear it anymore, wanted it to just go away. "_Leeeave… uhhh… mmme 'lone."_

Slade responded simply and with the utmost confidence, not even bothering to look at him, "Never."

The single word was damnation, a promise of hell to come, and somewhere in Robin's blurry mind he understood this.

A deadening haze crawled over him and Robin's eyes drifted shut once more. The aches, the fear, the anger, all of it slipped away and Robin just felt so _tired. _He was falling… falling…

…

…

…_Just like they fell all those years ago…_

_He watched them tumble through the air, saw their eyes widen the moment the cable snapped… heard the sickening crack as their bodies collided with the ground…My fault… I should have done something._

…_Then it was dark once more, and Robin was alone…_

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Slade watched as the boy's head fell to the side, masked eyes closed, breathing in short gasps. It was unfortunate that he had to keep Robin sedated throughout the trip - unfortunate but necessary, and actually quite entertaining for him to watch.

The boy had nightmares, he discovered, occasionally mumbling in his drug-induced sleep, giving Slade a unique insight into the boy's psyche. Not all of it was coherent, but the man had a general idea what was tormenting his apprentice. Mostly, to his immense satisfaction, the dreams had been about him and the boy's time as his apprentice, but they eventually evolved to focus more on Robin's friends and occasionally his old mentor, the Batman.

How sweet.

Slade sighed and leaned back against the leather seat, eyeing Robin carefully. The boy looked especially young like this, a child who was in way over his head. But Slade knew that an intelligent mind worked behind that face and that the boy's lean muscles had been trained to fight, possibly kill. A worthy choice, if only he would drop his ridiculous delusions about 'good and evil'. The world was not so black and white as the boy believed, and that was one of the first lessons Slade was going to have to teach him.

Slade smiled.

One day, Robin would realize what a fool he'd been to refuse him. And that day would mark the end of the Batman's brat, the dawning of a new age. Together, they would be an unstoppable force.

But all of that would come in time, with the proper training and discipline, of course. Soon, it would no longer be an issue of force but Robin's own willingness to come to him, to obey and to learn.

Slade glared down at the stubborn boy, currently oblivious to the world and his scrutiny.

_Mine! _he thought fiercely, with pride.

Slade turned towards the window to judge their location and smiled as he watched the rolling hills far below. "Home at last," he said quietly. Then, with a quick glance back at his apprentice, "We're home at last."

Though the plane was perfectly capable of landing itself, Slade picked himself up and took his seat in the pilot's chair once more, fingers already flying over the different controls. Hand resting on the accelerator, Slade allowed his eyes to close for a moment, savoring the feel of the plane's engine at his fingertips. He should really fly more often.

* * *

Robin really was far too light for a boy his age, Slade mused as he walked down the darkened corridor, footsteps echoing off the hard wood all around the walls. He was carrying the boy, bridal style, to his new room, which he had previously decided would be on one of the lower levels of the aged mansion, and Robin had not yet stirred.

Slade turned, left, left, right, down another flight of stairs, right, right… Ah, there it was - the only door with an electronic lock, halfway down the hallway. He punched in the code quickly and slid the key card home, opening the reinforced, steel door with a quiet _hiss_.

The room was large enough, and well furnished, not even remotely close to the prison-like cell Robin would probably be expecting. The only thing that set this room apart from any other was the advanced security on the door, the denser and more durable walls, and the three small cameras situated throughout the room at different strategic angles.

Quickly and silently, Slade plodded across the room and dropped Robin's still form unceremoniously on the large double bed. Slade's single eye narrowed as he gazed down at his apprentice; that gaudy uniform of his would definitely have to go.

He stayed like that for a few seconds more, picturing the boy in _his_ colors, orange and black, standing proudly by his side. But then, with a small almost inaudible sigh, he turned on his heel and strode from the room.

Now to see how the rest of those damned Titans were faring against the Brotherhood…

* * *

The first thing Robin noticed upon waking, besides the pain in his throat, was that he was lying on something delectably soft. Silky sheets caressed him, a mound of fluffy pillows rested beneath his head. His entire body felt reasonably sore, but the comfort of this bed he was on nearly cancelled it out.

He sighed and opened his eyes.

This… wasn't his room.

He was lying on a queen-sized four poster bed in the middle of a lavishly decorated bedroom, a little bigger than the one he had back at Titans Tower. Robin puzzled over this for a moment, brow furrowed, mouth gaping… and then it came back to him.

Slade had taken him from the Brotherhood of Evil's headquarters, using some sort of gas to knock him out, and he remembered something about a plane, a little brown-tinted bottle. But even so, this was… unexpected. The few nights that he'd spent working for Slade, he had slept in a small box-like room, empty but for a thin sleeping pad in the corner. So why had Slade put him in here? It made no sense.

Robin decided to just drop the issue; since when had anything involving Slade _ever _made sense? Besides, a gilded cage was still a cage, no matter how comfortable and inviting it seemed at the time.

Rolling his eyes, Robin forced himself up into a sitting position, wincing a bit as a pounding headache made itself known. Stupid gas…

Robin swung his legs over the side of the bed and paused a few moments to mentally prepare himself for the sickening dizziness he was sure to feel upon standing. He wasn't disappointed.

Swaying slightly, Robin walked across his room and automatically jiggled the door's handle. Locked of course, but it would have been ridiculous not to try it anyway. He gave it a sharp kick, putting all his strength behind it, but all he got for his trouble was an aching foot.

It didn't matter, he told himself, he'd find a way out of this eventually. Slade couldn't just keep him here forever. He had kidnapped him for a reason. That door would be opened from the outside at some point during his stay, and the moment Slade had his back turned, Robin was so out of there.

Determined, Robin looked more closely at his cell _(it couldn't be called anything else, regardless of the comfortable atmosphere) _and spotted at least two cameras hidden in the shadows along the walls. He smirked and removed them, crushing the small electronics in his fist. There wasn't anything else as far as he could tell, nothing in the suite bathroom, nothing in the bedroom.

_That couldn't be all of it_, he thought,_ maybe he put some tracking device on me while I was out. _

Robin scanned every inch of his suit, patting himself down in search of the little protrusion such a device would make, examining his cape, his boots, his skin. When he had at last reassured himself that there was nothing on his body that hadn't been before, he slumped into the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. Slade might've been able to place something under his skin _(shudder) _but he couldn't find any new scars or cuts either, so he put the thought from his mind and focused on another matter that was bursting to be addressed.

He was worried, not only for himself, but for his friends as well, and the new allies that they had searched all over for and, subsequently, placed in immediate danger. How long had it been since he'd last seen them? How many days had gone by while he had been held captive, unconscious, useless? They could be out there, fighting for their lives at this very moment or possibly already frozen by the Brotherhood of Evil, and he was sitting here in this luxurious room, unable to try and help them.

_They'll be alright, they're strong, much stronger than I am, and the Brotherhood can't track them anymore._ _They couldn't all have been captured, not yet._

There was nothing he could do for them, at least at the moment, so it really wouldn't do any of them any good to sit there thinking about it. Escape first, then find the Titans.

"You can't keep me here forever, you know," he muttered, knowing that somehow Slade would be able to hear him, "I'll get out of here, just like last time, and then I'll take you down."

"What makes you think you can, my boy?"

Robin started violently at the sound of the man's voice so close and jerked his head up to see his arch enemy standing serenely before him, hands clasped behind his back, as if he didn't even view Robin as any sort of threat.

"I've done it before." he growled, getting - as quickly as he could in such a miserable state - to his feet.

"_With _the help of your friends. On your own, however, you don't stand a chance."

All the frustration, guilt, and fear rushed to the forefront of his mind and he lunged forward without a second thought, a furious battle cry tearing from his abused throat.

The first punch missed as Slade dodged smoothly to the side, and the second was caught in a gloved fist, temporarily immobilizing him. Slade then dealt a swift kick to his midsection that knocked the boy painfully to the ground on his back. Clutching his once more rebelling stomach, Robin jumped to his feet, stumbling when the familiar blackness encroached on his vision. Slade took advantage of this, sending a quick uppercut to the Boy Wonder's jaw that very nearly knocked him out.

"You can't fight me, Robin, especially not as you are." said Slade, indicating Robin's slack form.

"Oh yeah?"

Robin charged once again, and he nearly tripped over his own feet, still extremely dizzy and light-headed. But he ignored this and prepared to kick Slade hard in the jaw. He paid dearly for it a second later, when Slade caught his foot mid-strike and threw him carelessly into the reinforced wall.

Panting, Robin tried to push himself up once more, but to his own immense frustration, found that he couldn't. His body was just too tired, muscles still a less responsive from the sedative.

"I'm glad we had this little chat, Robin, but unfortunately I have other business to attend to and no more time to spare for your childish tantrum. Enjoy your new room."

The door clicked shut behind him as Slade left Robin to his unhappy thoughts, grinning in satisfaction. Robin was forced to lay there for another several minutes before he was finally able to move. He got up slowly and stood, glowering at the door. Slade could play his sick little games as much as he wanted, but the next time that man stepped through the door, Robin would be ready, and Slade _would _pay for his various crimes.

Robin groaned. Who was he kidding? Slade could kick his ass with or without the sedatives running through his system.

He was so screwed.

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A/N: So yeah, I hope you liked it. :D Slade's a creeper.

Drop me a line and tell me what you think in a review. Pretty, pretty please?

See ya next chapter!


	3. To Fight

_**A/N: **_Okay, I know it's been forever, but it's actually not my fault this time. See, I finished it about a week after Chapter 1 (which is when I said I would) but then when I tried to upload it, well it didn't work. I tried all types of formats and everything, but something weird was just going on with my account. Everything was just kinda frozen. But that's okay now, cuz I finally got it to work. :D See, I give you a chapter now, so everything's alright again. See? See? *hides*

Really though, I promise no more uber long waits between chapters unless the freaky stuff happens again.

A huge thank you to all my reviewers! I think I responded to all of you, but if I missed someone, just know that I DO love you.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. *sigh*

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Chapter 2: To Fight

Robin paced back and forth across the length of his room - his _cell_, he corrected himself furiously - brow furrowed in thought, running his fingers over and over through his tangled, ebony hair in frustration. This was getting him nowhere, but there wasn't really anything more he could do, not at the moment.

This room was larger, more comfortable, and more luxurious than the place he had been kept in during his brief captivity in the Brotherhood's lair, but it was no more escapable. He wished, not for the first time, that he still had his utility belt on him; then he would have been able to simply blast his way out, reinforced walls or no. But he didn't have it, meaning that that train of thought was absolutely pointless, and so quickly shoved away.

He growled in frustration and kicked out violently at the nearest breakable object, in this case, an antique wooden chair which splintered and tumbled across the room in a broken heap. Robin smirked; he wondered viciously how many of the man's possessions (if indeed this was Slade's own house) he could break during his stay, before he managed to escape. Because he would do just that - escape that is - the moment he got the chance.

There was no one else he could rely on in this situation; he was on his own, locked up in Slade's latest haunt, a seemingly impenetrable fortress - at least from where he was standing. The Titans wouldn't be able to find him either, even if they had finished up with the Brotherhood of Evil: he had disabled and thrown away his communicator before Madam Rouge had caught him out in the desert, seeing as it had been nothing more than a dangerous liability. Now, he felt an eternity away from even that time.

Robin sighed and stopped, eyes closed with his head tilted back towards the ceiling, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He had to calm down, he couldn't think about it, just had to focus on what he was going to _do. _

Which was what exactly? Wait around here, moping and wallowing in self pity until Slade came to get him and just hope to God that he could make it past the man without him noticing? Sounds like a great plan. Yeah, right.

And here he was back to square one, turning over and over the same miserable thoughts, entertaining the same pointless, half-assed theories. He almost wished that Slade would walk through that door to taunt him again, if only to break the maddening monotony.

Robin had no idea how long he'd been here stewing in his own frustration and misery, but the silence that had filled the room since Slade had left him was oppressive and absolute. No matter how much he snarled, screamed and cursed, it would simply swell up around him again the moment the echoes died.

Honestly, he had no idea whether or not he was alone in this… house. Slade could have left, he could be right outside the door. The room might just be sound-proof, blocking out the little noises that every house should make: the constant creaking of aged and rotting floors, the water rushing through the pipes in the walls and ceiling, the opening and closing of doors in the distance.

Regardless, he heard nothing but his own breathing and his own rough voice. The silence was slowly working its way under his skin, wriggling at the back of his mind tauntingly, slowly wearing away at his nerves, and he couldn't even begin to fathom why it was so _damn annoying_.

He put a weary palm to his face and sat down right where he was standing, legs crossed, head bowed and held in his hands. It was almost a funny thought: trapped in Slade's hideout not knowing what the man was planning to do with him, worrying over his friends' fate in the fight against the Brotherhood of Evil, starving and significantly weakened - and here he was, bored out of his mind.

A small chuckle bubbled up his throat and out through his lips, bursting forth and echoing throughout the room, relishing its triumph. Then it was quiet again, and he laughed at that, bitterly, despondently, the sound ringing with a tone of desperation. It was so goddamn quiet in here, and why on _earth _was that so freaking funny?

Okay, so maybe he was slightly hysterical.

He needed to get a hold of himself. If he was going to get out of here and find his friends then he needed to get some control over his wild emotions and focus.

Face straight once more, Robin allowed himself to flop backwards so that he was lying on the floor, staring up at the shadows that stretched across the white, cracked ceiling.

Hours could have passed, days maybe, and he wouldn't even know. He knew absolutely nothing about his situation and it was _driving him insane_.

Robin stretched his legs out and cracked his back, trying to ignore the lingering aches in his body. The sedative had completely worked its way out of his system a while ago, but Slade's little welcoming beating had done nothing for him in the pain department.

However, Robin reluctantly had to admit that Slade could have done a lot more damage to him than he had, Robin being in a near catatonic state at the time, and had refrained from doing so. He didn't feel exactly pleasant, but it was a lot better than it could have been; at least, he wasn't yet a broken heap of flesh and bones on the floor, he was alive, able to move around, and relatively undamaged.

Slade had mentioned earlier that he had actually been _saving _Robin by kidnapping him and taking him here. In a way, that's exactly what Slade did.

But, Slade being the selfish man that Robin knew he was, there had to be another motive. Perhaps Slade wanted to try and turn him into the perfect apprentice once more and was simply luring him into a false sense of security as a way to break him. There was no other reason that Robin could think of that would explain Slade's actions towards him, and it wasn't an unreasonable thought; quite the contrary actually.

Robin yawned widely into his palm, interrupting his own musings. He supposed that he had been in here a good number of hours and that he should probably get some sleep, but the thought of Slade coming in while he was out kept him awake. He had to be able to protect himself here, because no one else would be willing to do it for him. But he was getting to be so tired.

His eyes fluttered shut and stayed, the darkness and the quiet all at once soothing and frightening. Just a short rest, that was all he would allow himself, at least for now. Through his closed eyelids, Robin could sense the light in the rooming dimming until it was pitch black. He forced one eye slowly open and sighed: visibility was now zero, just as he had thought, meaning that he might as well get some sleep. He wouldn't be able to see Slade coming either way, and he would stand a better chance in a fight if he was well rested.

Decision made, Robin fell into the blackness and allowed himself to drift off. He'd just have to deal with Slade… later.

* * *

_Click…_

Robin shot up like a bullet with a quick gasp and jumped into a low, defensive fighting stance, eyes darting madly around the room. His gaze fell upon the barely open bedroom door and he froze, waiting for Slade's inevitable entrance, all of his senses alert and focused on that one central point… but nothing happened. No one came in and the door did not move another inch while he stared at it.

Robin stood there for almost a full minute before he allowed himself to relax, a tense stillness permeating the room. It would seem that he was still alone in here… but then, who had opened the door?

He continued to strain his eyes and ears for any sign of movement as he cautiously, slowly approached the door and laid his hand on the polished golden handle, tugging the door further open so that he could peak outside and scan the dark hallway. There really was no one there.

Robin took a single step outside the room, and then another so that he was standing stiffly in the empty corridor. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of air rushing in and out of his lungs.

"Who's there?" he called, voice hoarse from so many hours of lack of use. No one answered and nothing moved.

Then, with a sharp _SLAM!_ the door behind him snapped shut causing Robin to very nearly jump out of his skin in shock and let out a yelp of surprise.

Chest heaving with the stress, Robin found himself on the other side of the hall, pressing his back against the wall opposite his cell door, masked eyes flicking up and down the still hallway. Nobody there, so that meant that his door was opened and shut mechanically by someone hidden somewhere else within the manor - and Robin had a pretty good idea who that someone was. So then the question became, 'why?'

"What are you planning, Slade?" he muttered to himself, eyes narrowed in confusion. There was no way Slade would just let him loose like this, with no one to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't escape. He didn't know what to think about any of this.

_And that's probably just what Slade wants, _he thought bitterly, setting off down the hall to his left.

An ominous clinking sound suddenly echoed from somewhere above him, freezing Robin in his tracks, and then -

_**BOOM!**_

A thick metal wall slammed down not a foot in front of him, sealing off the passage he had been about to enter, a ringing silence settling after. Robin took a few wary steps back and then stopped, glaring. Forget the innocent act and Slade's unexpected, almost _kind_ gestures; this place was going to give him a heart attack.

Glancing behind him, still on his own, Robin considered his options.

So, it appeared that Slade did _not _want him to go in that particular direction - all the more reason to make his own way through, by any means necessary, and head that way, regardless of what Slade wanted him to do.

"You think this'll stop me?" he growled.

Robin backed up a good five feet and then, with an angry roar, sprinted forward, leaped into the air, and landed his steel toed boot right in the center of the new wall with all the force he could muster.

It wasn't enough.

"_Argh!" _Robin crumpled against the relentless steel, the pain jarring his entire leg, and then fell back to the floor, clutching his now aching foot. If he was being honest with himself, he'd never really expected it to work anyway. If Slade didn't want him to get past this gate then he would have pulled out all the stops. Robin was going to have to get creative here.

Determined, Robin stood up and looked around him, searching for anything that might prove to be useful.

"You really _are _stubborn, aren't you, my boy?"

Robin jumped about a foot in the air, eyes flying wide open, and spun around, searching for the source of the man's voice.

"Where are you?" he shouted.

"Nowhere near, Robin, you don't have to worry about that… for now." Robin frowned as he heard Slade's short laughter over the small speakers he could now see set into the walls. "But if you wish to find me, all you have to do is follow the path I've laid out for you. There's nowhere else you can go."

Robin turned back to the metal wall, eyeing its sturdiness. Slade knew everything about him, in every possible meaning of the phrase; not only did he understand his personality, his strengths, his weaknesses, but his physical capabilities as well. That room - this wall - were made for _him_, built to keep _him_ inside and it was a waste of his energy to try and break it down. If he had his belt, a couple of bird-arangs, one of his bombs, he could make it out of there no sweat. But as it was, he was only human.

He sighed and looked down the open hallway, looming before him, stretching on into darkness. Slade was waiting for him at the end of it, was expecting him to come crawling to his master like a good little apprentice, and _that _was something that Robin had no intention of doing.

On the other hand, this was the first time in days that Robin had found himself able to face the man at full strength - or something close to it at least - unbound and essentially free. If he was careful, if he played it right and didn't do anything stupid to jeopardize his chances, he might be able to get himself out of there.

Glaring up at one of the tiny speakers, Robin narrowed his eyes and mumbled a short "Fine," before starting down the long hallway, grumbling to himself the whole way. Slade had already blocked off every other path he could've taken, marking the various twists and turns, leading Robin straight to him with no other options available. Robin gave a bitter bark of laughter at that; it seemed Slade was trying to tell him something with this little trick.

Along the way, Robin checked a few of the numerous doors along the corridor, each and every one of them leading to windowless rooms, mostly used for storage, a few set up exactly like the bedroom he had woken to. No way out. Robin growled in frustration but moved on, cursing Slade to hell and back with each step he took. He was most likely underground, meaning that the only way out was up, and seeing as he had yet to come across a set of stairs, it would appear that he was still trapped, not that he should have expected anything less.

After what felt like hours of navigating the seemingly endless basement and his fruitless searching, Robin reached the end of Slade's little game in the form of an industrial looking door set into the end of the hallway, contrasting sharply with the rich, wooden doors that he saw everywhere else. This had to be it. Slade, possibly his only chance at freedom, lay just beyond this door, waiting.

Without further ado, Robin coiled his leg towards his body and let fly with a powerful kick that instantly knocked the door open with a deafening _bang _that echoed throughout the large room.

A dark, empty expanse lay before him, silent but for an occasional quiet clinking and the crackle of electricity. Across the room, standing before a wide table covered in scraps of metal and various tools, with his back to the door - and subsequently Robin - stood Slade, calmly continuing his work as if his latest and extremely hostile hostage hadn't just burst through the door.

"Welcome, Robin." he said smoothly, coolly examining a small cylindrical piece, "You took quite a while to get here. Did you happen to find what you were looking for?"

Robin growled, "I'm not buying into your games, Slade. I don't care what you threaten to do to me here, I'm _not _working for you again. _**Ever**_. So you might as well drop the act."

"I'm not '_acting_' at all, Robin. I have brought you here for your own good. The offer still stands, you know."

"_No thanks," _he snarled in response, "Sorry to disappoint you, Slade, but _I_ still have morals and a bit of _sanity_ left- two things _you _obviously lack, by the way."

Slade turned around to face him at last, his single grey eye narrowed dangerously.

"Cute, Robin. But I'm afraid that you have no other option _but _to accept. Whether you like it or not, you _will be _my apprentice." Slade replaced what Robin could now see was a small automatic pistol, and slowly started advancing towards him, confident and imposing.

"There is no other choice for you, Robin."

Robin held his ground, fists raised as Slade approached him, looking down at him. The condescension in his demeanor and the poorly disguised threat in his voice infuriated Robin beyond reason, and he started forward, right arm thrown back, preparing to deliver a powerful blow to Slade's masked face.

"Rrraaagh!"

Slade easily dodged to the side, hands behind his back, and Robin was thrown off balance, tripping forward. He caught himself and attacked again, swinging and jabbing fists and feet in an attempt to catch the man off guard, to hurt him, to make him angry. Immovable as ever, Slade ducked and parried, calmly weaving around Robin's every attempted blow, infuriating the boy further with his lack of response, knowing that the boy's lack of control made him reckless and predictable.

Robin's reflexes were starting to slow as he used up all his energy with his quick, emotional outburst and his wild attacks, and Slade took advantage. The hand that dealt him the blow was a blur of black and silver as it collided with Robin's face, the vicious backhand knocking him clean off his feet and onto the ground, panting and slightly dazed.

Robin saw Slade's foot coming and rolled out of the way, watching it come down right where his head had been moments before, lifting a small cloud of dust as the cement floor crumbled under the force. Springing lithely to his feet, Robin swung around in a roundhouse kick that finally connected with the man's shoulder and threw him back several feet.

"That's it, Robin. Be more creative, _think _while you fight!" said Slade as he dodged another blow, this one aimed at his face, and came back with a ruthless uppercut. Robin grunted in pain but shoved it to the back of his mind, finding himself on the defensive.

Slade came at him quick as lightning, a roar of fury leaving his lips as he attacked. Robin was able to hold his own for a short while, dancing around Slade's fists and using his acrobatic skills to dodge and occasionally strike back, but as Robin came back with a punch aimed at Slade's face, an armored knee came up into his gut, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

He wheezed and coughed, trying to get some air back into his lungs, but Slade was already behind him, pulling his arms behind his back and forcing Robin forward until his face touched the floor, legs curled up under him. The thick cord was looped three times around his wrists and pulled tight, nearly cutting off the circulation.

As soon as Robin was able to breathe again, he started struggling, but it was no use. The position Slade was holding him in made any amount of movement painful and near impossible, and so he was forced to stay put, panting, on the ground. A guttural growl rose up in his throat as he tugged fruitlessly at his bindings.

"Oh come now, Robin. Did you honestly think that you could defeat me?" Slade hissed softly in his ear. "You've gotten weak and sloppy while I've been away, just as I expected you would. You _need _me, whether you're willing to admit it or not, to keep you on your toes and push you to your limits. And I can teach you so much more…"

"You're a liar and a thief! I'm not going to learn _anything_ from you!" Robin snarled.

Slade's grey eye was like a chip of ice. "Is that so? Deny it all you like Robin, you and I both know the truth."

There was a pressure on his back as Slade pushed himself up, and then it was gone as Robin was let up, hands still tied behind his back. He tried to bring himself to his feet, but the cords around his wrists pulled painfully tight and he realized that Slade must have tied him down to something in the floor, to hold him there. Robin grimaced but silently flipped the tiny switch in his glove that would allow the sharp little blade to pop open on the tip of his finger so that he might cut through the ropes… but nothing happened. Frustrated, he tried again only to be met with the same results.

Then it occurred to him, what Slade might have done with his old suit, back when he was his apprentice all that time ago. At the time, Robin thought that he would have burned it or just thrown it away, but perhaps Slade had decided to keep it and take it apart, learning all the little tricks and surprises Robin would have had in store for him, if ever he managed to escape. It really wouldn't surprise him; Slade pretty much knew everything else about him already.

Bringing his attention back to the man before him, Robin looked up. "I'm not going to be your stupid apprentice again, Slade, so there's no point in keeping me here. Let. Me. _Out!_"

Slade only laughed, his eye sparkling with mirth.

"You know, my boy, I don't think I will. I worked very hard to get you here and I'm not one to put such effort to waste."

"Just tell me what you want already!" he snarled, losing patience.

Slade walked over to him and knelt down, cupping Robin's chin in one gloved hand. "You already know what I want from you, Robin, and you _are _going to give it to me."

Robin jerked away and spat, _"Like hell I will!"_

He could tell that he had made Slade angry this time, that he had crossed some line with the man. "You can try to fight it, Robin," Slade hissed menacingly, grabbing at his jaw once again in a painfully tight grip, 'You can struggle and cry and be stubborn about it, but in the end you'll have only brought more pain on yourself and still reach the same, inevitable result."

"You have nothing to threaten me with this time, Slade. I don't care what you do to me, I'll never obey you. I have to find my friends, they -"

"Are beyond your help." Slade interrupted smoothly, tauntingly.

Robin stared. "What do you -"

"It's too late to save them, Robin. The Brotherhood of Evil won, captured every single one of them. There's only so long even a meta human can remain frozen before their heart inevitably… stops. You can't help them anymore." Slade stood up and walked away, his back to Robin's slumped form.

"No…NO! You're lying! There's still -" Robin's vision was blurring, a horrible prickling sensation at the corners of his eyes, the back of his throat starting to burn. His masked eyes were wide open in horror.

Slade continued emotionlessly, hatefully. "There is nothing more you can do for them, Robin. It's over. You're too late."

"_IT'S NOT OVER!" _he roared, hating how his voice cracked on the last word,_ "I HAVE TO FIND MY FRIENDS_… and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"_Ungrateful little brat!" _Slade snarled, turning back to Robin and kicking him hard in the jaw, throwing him onto his back. "I saved your miserable life! If it wasn't for me, you'd have gone the same way as all your little friends - frozen, _cold_, and very dead! You owe me."

"I owe you _nothing!" _

Robin pushed himself back into a sitting position and glared up at Slade from the floor, the man's massive form looming over him.

"_Then you will suffer."_

Slade seized a fistful of Robin's spiky black hair and slammed him backwards onto the ground, his head connecting with the unforgiving cement first so that colorful spots burst in front of his eyes. He felt a moment of intense pain, and then everything went black.

* * *

A/N: Now, as you can tell, this was a very important chapter. So naturally I want to hear what you guys think? I really hope I'm not boring you or anything, but there's no way I can tell unless you REVIEW.

Also, a question: whenever I go back and read through my writing, it sounds a bit rushed to me, and I was wondering whether you guys feel the same way.

My plan for what Slade does to Robin while he's there isn't actually complete. I know what's going to be going on psychologically, but I don't want it to get repetitive at all, so any ideas would be much appreciated.

I'm looking for a beta if anyone's interested. Just PM me or mention it in a review.

And... I think that's all I wanted to say. Happy 4th of July!


	4. Disappearances and Deceit

_**A/N:**_ Before any of you say anything, I know that it's been forever. I got blocked up on both my stories and have just recently gotten over my little slump. I've been doing a lot of planning and decision making in regards to the future plot and it's actually been really difficult. Normally, the chapters flow through relatively smoothly and are pretty easy to write. Lately, that has not been the case. I prefer not to force my writing but it's been so damn long that I just decided to finish this thing, do a quick, final edit and post it.

Keep in mind that these first stories for me are sort of just experiments. I make mistakes and I don't always catch them. I'm dabbling into different points of view and writing styles. TELL ME if you find any grammatical errors or places that you think lack flow. I have a plan, and I'm going to finish this, but it's difficult for me to get back into the groove of writing.

Disclaimer: It's fanfiction. FAN-fiction! I own nothing!

Erm, I realize that I left you all on quite the cliffhanger last chapter. Well, you'll soon find out what I've decided to do to poor Robin.

And so, here you are: the long awaited third chapter...

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Disappearances and Deceit**_

"Robin…"

His head throbbed and ached, little flashes and streaks of white_, painful _lights went off behind his eyes as consciousness slowly came back to him. His eyelids fluttered halfheartedly as Robin attempted to bring himself to full awareness.

"Ugh," he groaned. He was getting so sick of this: Slade knocking him unconscious, more often than not in a highly unpleasant and painful way, and then waking up afterwards with the same splitting headache and limited use of his muscles. It was getting to be extremely tiresome and frustrating for him, the lack of control over his own facilities and the disorientation.

He managed to roll his head upright from its uncomfortable position on his left shoulder, gently stretching out his stiff neck as he did so.

"Ah, you're awake."

He forced his eyes open, then closed them less than a second later, hissing and recoiling from the white light that filled his vision and burned into his retinas. Blinking owlishly, he waited for his eyes to adjust, dreading what he might see when they did.

It wasn't as bad as he had imagined it to be: He was seated in a high-backed chair at the end of an ornate dining table in another, rather large room. Slade was at the other end, leaning forward, chin resting on the backs of his clasped hands, silently watching his every move. Behind him was a large, floor to ceiling window through which the afternoon sun shined in - the source of the blinding light.

Robin attempted to stand, but was prevented from doing so by the bindings wrapped tightly around his shoulders, wrists, and ankles, tying him down to the chair. Slade watched his struggles with an amused eye, but otherwise did not move.

After several minutes of silence only broken by the occasional grunt or curse from Robin, the boy let his limbs go slack, panting, and looked up at his captor through narrowed eyes.

"What - what is this?" he demanded, tugging at his restraints.

"This, Robin," A door behind the boy opened and he craned around to see one of Slade's many robots walking surprisingly smoothly into the room, carrying a steaming plate full of food. "Is dinner."

Robin stared as the meal was set down before Slade, a small stirring of excitement fluttering in his stomach: Unless Slade was planning on eating his meal through a straw, the mask he wore was going to have to come off, finally revealing the face that Robin had obsessed over for the past year, the face that had taunted him during the long hours of the night and had baffled him during the day, his seemingly endless search proving fruitless time and time again - until now.

Slade's grey eye, unwavering in its intensity, flicked up to meet Robin's gaze. He reached a hand up, placing the pads of his index finger and thumb on either side of his mask, initiating a soft click that rang like a gunshot throughout the otherwise silent room. A small crack appeared, perfectly straight, stretching across Slade's mask from ear to ear, and the lower half fell away, revealing a devilish smirk and a silvery white goatee.

Inwardly, Robin groaned in dissatisfaction - even as he committed the few details he could see to memory - and this was an emotion that Slade immediately saw right through.

"Disappointed, Robin?" he asked patronizingly as he took up the knife and fork on either side of his plate.

It was at that exact moment that Robin caught the scent coming from the other end of the table. Suddenly distracted, his eyes focused in on the dish; Slade was having some sort of meat smothered in a dark red sauce and garnished with a few green leaves; a medley of vegetables off to the side, broccoli, carrots, and corn tumbling across the plate as Slade's knife bit into what had to be a juicy, delicious steak. A simple enough meal, but to Robin, it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in days.

How long had it been since he'd actually eaten a proper meal, or _anything_ for that matter? He'd been here for at least a couple of days, and the last time he could recall putting food in his mouth was during breakfast at Titans' Tower, a few minutes before they had gone out on their search for the other young heroes.

He tried to force such thoughts away, tried to shove his hunger into a far back corner in his mind, but at the mouthwatering scent, Robin's traitorous, aching stomach gave a particularly loud grumble and he very nearly released a frustrated moan. Slade paused and looked up.

"You must be hungry, my boy." he remarked smugly. Robin flushed and glowered at him, but Slade simply returned to his meal, looking extremely satisfied with himself. "Would you like something to eat?"

Robin raised his chin defiantly and, in a voice laced with restrained fury, told him, "No." His empty belly gurgled as if in angry response to his denial. Slade looked pleased.

"Suit yourself."

With that, he returned to his meal, placing each forkful delicately, tauntingly into his mouth, apparently savoring the flavor as he chewed silently. Robin was fuming where he sat, understanding exactly what Slade was doing and cursing the man to hell and back for it - he was using a fairly obvious tactic after all, but that didn't make it any less effective. Robin turned away and glared at the different walls of the room, trying to ignore the aching emptiness in his stomach and the delicious smell wafting over from the other end of the table.

Eventually, Slade finished and ordered another robot in to take away the empty dish and bring him a bottle of wine. Robin remained quiet, his anger coming off of him in almost tangible waves. Slade smirked.

"So, Robin, I'm sure you must be curious about your future here."

Silence greeted this statement.

"Oh, come now. Only a short while ago you were so full of questions…"

Robin tested the strength of his restraints once again, gritting his teeth and pulling with all his might before he slumped into the chair, mumbling furiously, "Fine. Go ahead and tell me all about your grand, evil scheme, just like the typical cliché villain you are. Haven't met one yet that doesn't love a good monologue."

Slade frowned, un-amused, and walked slowly towards him, a predator stalking its prey.

"I simply thought you'd like to know what I had planned for you. This is all for your own good, you know."

Robin scoffed. "Yeah, just like everything else you've done to me over the past few years has been 'for my own good.' You know, stealing from my city and trying to kill off my friends isn't exactly the best way to win me over."

Slade stopped, a mere foot away from where Robin sat bound and virtually helpless, his one eye narrowed in what could be either anger or amusement. At that moment, Robin didn't care about the fact that Slade could so easily kill him right then and there, nor did he fear what Slade might do to him otherwise. True to the bright colors he wore, Robin boldly plowed on.

"None of this is for me, really, is it?" Robin hissed, his voice rising as he continued, "It's all been for you ever since the beginning, and you know it! Admit it, Slade, you're nothing but a psychotic, **selfish** man who -"

Slade's hand whipped out, faster than Robin could blink, and slapped him hard across the face, stunning him into silence. Robin's head immediately snapped back around and he glared at the man with all the hatred and fury he'd harbored since the day they had met, his domino mask not disguising any of his anger.

"Enough." Slade growled slowly, low and lethal, carefully enunciating each syllable. "From now on, you will speak to me with respect."

"Whatever."

Slade's eye narrowed dangerously, but Robin ignored it, thinking to himself that his situation could hardly get any worse. Getting the chance to make Slade angry and to dig under the man's skin was one of the very few liberties he had left while here and Robin fully intended to be as difficult as possible. It wasn't as if Slade was willing to just kill him outright; _that _particular fact had been made clear long ago, one of the few times Robin had actually managed to truly defeat him.

Unfortunately, Slade seemed to be able to see this conviction behind Robin's bravado and quickly made to rid such thoughts from Robin's mind.

"Don't test me, boy. I promise you," Slade leaned in, a hand on each arm of the chair, so that his mask filled Robin's vision, "you will live to regret it."

He shoved himself upright and used one steel-toed boot to kick Robin hard in the chest, so that his chair skittered a couple of feet backwards toward the wall, and toppled spectacularly to the floor rolling to its side with the boy held awkwardly in place, suspended by the thick cords. Robin gave a short exclamation of surprise and pain as he was knocked to the ground.

The door was pushed open once more as the Slade-bot entered the room, placing a tall wine glass and a green glass bottle upon the table, completely ignoring the strange scene. The robot simply plucked the stopper from the bottle's brim and poured a generous amount into the cup, exiting once more as soon as its work was complete.

Slade lifted the glass to his lips and took a rather large sip from it, visibly relaxing as he looked down at his prisoner.

"You are not in a position to be making threats, young man, nor do I appreciate your taking my recent hospitality for granted. Try and play the hero here, Robin, and you'll find that I can be _very _nasty when I choose to be." said Slade calmly, walking around Robin's fallen figure as if he were nothing more than a piece of furniture. "Be sure to consider this the next time you open your wretched little mouth in my presence." The last was said with an unusual amount of venom and was followed immediately by the slamming of the room's only door.

The ringing silence was not punctuated for several minutes as the truth and the absolute finality of Slade's words slowly sunk in. Robin's lip curled in a furious snarl and he let out a sharp growl. He began to thrash violently against his restraints, raising bruises and blood at his wrists and ankles, voice rising like a storm until he was shouting his frustration to the empty room, unheard and so utterly alone.

_

* * *

_

Two days earlier…

"Dudes, check it out!" Beast Boy laughed and tossed the last of their enemies into the path of the conveyor belt. There was a blast of concentrated cold air and unnatural fog, which cleared a moment later to reveal the Brain encased in a thick layer of ice and suspended in midair. "Brain Freeze!"

Nobody laughed.

"Alright ya'll, I think that's the last of them." said Cyborg, stepping forward. "If everyone's been unfrozen, I think we can all just go home."

There were a couple of cheers from the crowd of young heroes, an air of triumph lightening what had, only a few short hours ago, been a dark and dismal mood. It was over. They had finally won.

"And what are we supposed to do with _them?"_ Raven muttered, sweeping one pale arm out towards the many villains lined up along what could only be called a display case, unmoving with wide eyes that stared unseeingly outward, arms and legs stopped mid-motion. The crowd fell quiet and looked upon the eerie sight that was what had become of their enemies with different blends of confusion, righteous pride, and anger.

"We could just… y'know, leave them here…"suggested Speedy, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had filled the room, his voice sounding only slightly bitter "For just a little while." he added at the odd looks he received, one hand reaching up casually to scratch at the back of his red head.

Raven shot the archer a haggard glare. "Not a chance." she said flatly.

"It would be as good as killing them, I mean, nobody else really knows where this place is." said Bumblebee, flitting over the heads of the other Honorary Titans to hover near the freeze-machine's control system. "They could stay here like this for years."

"I agree," said Starfire, her normally carefree voice unusually serious, "The idea of leaving our enemies in such a state is… unsettling."

"So… what? The police?" asked Beast Boy. "So they can un-freeze them all and let them escape again?"

"I guess so." Cyborg suddenly looked around, his eyes scanning the room.

The uneasy feeling he'd had niggling in the back of his brain suddenly clicked as he realized what was missing: Robin was nowhere in sight and hadn't spoken a word since their arrival; he should've been up front and taking charge by now, giving orders and making quick decisions. And when it came to it, he was usually the person who dealt with the police and the media.

Slightly unnerved by the leader's absence, Cyborg walked quickly over to where Raven stood, her face shrouded in the deep shadows of her dark hood. She glanced up at him, eyes brooding, and muttered, "What's wrong?"

Cyborg hesitated for a moment, not wanting to worry any of the team mates unnecessarily; then he recalled that, as an empath, Raven could feel his discomfort and probably already had some idea of what was wrong.

"Rae, have you seen Robin since the fight?" he asked gravely and without preamble, pulling the witch a few feet away from the still debating group, so that the rest of the young heroes wouldn't hear.

Her eyes narrowed slightly in concentration as she thought back, silently pulling her hood down to rest on her shoulders. "No," she said quietly, after a short bit of consideration. "And I didn't see him during the fight either, not since we split up the T-ship."

"You think he's still somewhere in the building?" he asked, "Maybe he managed to escape before the Brotherhood froze him."

"Maybe," Raven murmured doubtfully. Something about this didn't sit right.

Cyborg merely raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Well, where else could he be? All the bad guys are _here_."

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling. It's probably nothing."

"Well, speaking from past experience here, knowing you, I'm pretty sure it's not nothing." he frowned, starting to share her feeling of unease. "Why don't you look for him? Y'know, like you did when he was infected with the dust…"

Raven looked around at him steadily. "I don't want to invade his privacy unless it becomes absolutely necessary. I've already seen a few things that I know he didn't want me to… Last time, we knew that the situation was life threatening."

"Well, after all that's been happening, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I mean, how are we supposed to know whether or not he's in danger? All our communicators are offline." Cyborg pulled the broken scraps of his own communicator from a compartment in his side. The small device had been destroyed only a few hours ago by the person they were now trying to find.

"I can do a general scan, see if he's in the area…" Raven relented, already beginning to fall into her meditative stance, legs subconsciously crossing in midair, elbows resting on her bare knees. Cyborg nodded silently and left her to it.

"What's she doing?"

Cyborg startled at the sudden, very _loud_ question, and looked around to see that Beast Boy had joined them.

"Just having a look around the area."

"What for? We got all the villains."

Cyborg sighed. "Yeah, but it's lookin' like we didn't get all the heroes."

"What d'you mean? We're all…" Beast Boy's eyes widened comically, and he gasped as realization hit him. "Oh_ man_, do you think -?"

"Look BB, I'm sure he's fine." said Cyborg quickly, "We just want to know where he is."

"Well he's not here."

Raven had come out of her trance and was standing once more, her dark blue eyes serious and showing the first hints of worry. "I couldn't find him."

"Are you sure?" asked Cyborg.

Beast Boy piped up, "Yeah, I mean, when our group was coming in, some of the bad guys even _told _us he was about to be frozen. He couldn't have gone far."

"I know, and it doesn't sound like him either." said Raven, hands raised to her temples in thought. "I looked all over this building and into the surrounding jungle. Even if he did escape on his own, he would have known that we'd eventually turn up here looking for a fight. He wouldn't have left."

"He could've thought we'd already been captured…" suggested Cyborg half-heartedly, "But then he would've tried to pull off a rescue or something, not run away. It makes no sense."

They stood in contemplative silence, oblivious to the continued chatter of their fellows, each of them slowly coming to realize the same thing.

"So how are we supposed to find him? Do we even know how long ago he left?" Beast boy questioned, beginning to pace in a small circle.

"If he was never frozen, then it would have to be some time between his capture and the time you guys entered the building, before the Brotherhood realized that he was gone." Cyborg rubbed his chin thoughtfully, trying to piece together a more specific timeline. "Had to be within the last couple of hours, so he couldn't have gone too far."

"Unless he had help."

"…."

"Dude, this sucks."

"I know, we've just got to think about it logically." said Cyborg. "Do we know where he was kept before he disappeared?"

"No, but we could probably find out if we follow that." Raven said, indicating the large hole through which the conveyor belt disappeared.

Cyborg shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."

"Friends, what is this 'plan' that you speak of?"

Starfire had drifted over from her conversation with Bumblebee and was looking down at them from where she was floating with eyes full of curiosity and naïveté. She a quick double-take with her short eyebrows furrowed and frowned.

"Why has Robin not yet joined us? He should like to be of assistance to this plan, yes?"

"Sure he would," said Beast Boy, "Y'know, if we… actually knew where he was." He took a step backwards, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort under Starfire's gaze.

"If we do not know where he is, then we should find him with much haste. He is our friend and he could have been injured! Why have you not -?"

"Star, we're going to look for him, okay?" Cyborg interrupted her, "But it's gonna be hard. We don't have our locators anymore and Raven couldn't sense his mind anywhere on the property so we're gonna have to do a little digging.

"Beast Boy and I will be the ones to check out the conveyor belt while Starfire and Raven get everyone organized here. We'll come back in a bit to show you whatever we find."

Raven nodded and Beast Boy quickly transformed into a green bloodhound, but Starfire looked like she wanted to protest. She fell lightly to the ground as her joy left her.

"Please, I -"

"Beast Boy and I are better at tracking, and somebody's got to stay here to hold down the fort." Cyborg moved forward and gently squeezed her shoulder in comfort. "He's going to be okay, Starfire. We're gonna find him."

* * *

Miles away, Slade sat comfortably in a wide arm chair that stood, almost throne-like, before a large display of flickering monitors, showing every angle of the Brotherhood's lost base. He smirked in amusement as the Titans split off into groups of two, the changeling and the cyborg going off towards the cell rooms in search of their leader while the alien and witch stayed to watch over the proceedings of the group.

They did not know that their efforts were already wasted, their hunt fruitless, their anxiety founded.

"Feel free to search the world, Titans. The boy belongs to me now…"

* * *

**_A/N:_** Dear Lord, I feel horrible about this chapter. Definitely going to go back and edit this, but for now, I'd like to hear your thoughts.


	5. Detectives

_**A/N:**_ So... here I am! XD... Yes, well, I'm afraid I've allowed myself to become very distracted over these last _(oh crap!)_ few months. I have been legitimately busy with school work, community service (which is a graduation requirement at my school and my school only, at least as far as I'm aware), regular work, and making sure that I'll actually be able to walk with my class this year. But, in addition to that, I became completely obsessed with my latest discoveries: Death Note and Code Geass. I've never been into or even seen an anime show before, but I came across DN sometime in September and I fangirled so hard I just had to find more. And then I started looking around those fandoms on this site for any good stories and... yeah, totally distracted. I had no motivation to write when I was reading and watching soooo much.

In case any of you were wondering, yes, that's my excuse. It was kind of a big thing for me.

Anyway, here you are my lovelies. If any of you are still reading this, I want to thank you for sticking with me. I am a naughty, naughty author, yes?

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Detectives**_

The afternoon sunlight was steadily fading, sharp yellow light slipping further and further up the room as the angle changed.

Robin lay completely still, no longer struggling against the ropes that held him, eyes blank and staring in pained acceptance. At the moment, he could hardly recall ever feeling so miserable, every inch of him throbbing, aching, or burning at some injury or another - all of it caused directly or indirectly by Slade himself. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to pull so hard against his restraints, to deny himself sustenance, to so openly goad his captor into attacking him like that…

And this, of course, was probably playing right into Slade's plan, to wear him down until he became pliable and complacent like a good little apprentice. As much as Robin hated to admit it, he was going to have to be more careful from now on - choose his battles, do as much as he could to ensure his continued health, at least until he found a way to escape.

Clenching his masked eyes tightly closed, Robin tried to breathe steadily and more calmly through his nose, slowly relaxing the various aching muscles in his body. The sun was setting now, the sky streaked with red and the coming darkness of nightfall. The fact that he was still here after however many hours had passed, with no contact from Slade, meant that he would likely be spending the night on this floor. He sighed and started to mentally prepare himself for what was probably going to end up being the most uncomfortable night's sleep he'd ever gotten.

The door behind him clanked loudly, startling him from his dozing state and forcing his eyes open once more as it creaked ominously open behind him. A few seconds later, a pair of shined black shoes and trim, black trousers stepped into his field of vision and Robin quickly raised his eyes to identify the strange man standing over him. White hair and an aged, strict-looking face gazed down at him with equal measures of severity and what - if he wasn't mistaken - appeared to be genuine concern.

"Who are you?" Robin snapped accusingly up at the man, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

The stranger only raised his eyebrows, unaffected. "No need to be so suspicious, young man. I am merely here to escort you back to your room - unless you _wanted _to sleep on the floor?"

The condescending tone made Robin want to lash out at the man. He could taste the easy response on his tongue: _'Yes, I'm perfectly fine here, thank you very much!' _But then he forced himself to remember his latest decision to _choose his battles._ Considering his injuries and exhaustion, a soft bed would only do him some good.

"No," he bit out, "I don't."

The man nodded, "Very good, then," and immediately knelt down to begin the process of untying him. When he had finished freeing both of his wrists, Robin, seeing the obvious opportunity, moved to incapacitate him with a swift jab to the bundle of nerves located at the back of the neck. But before his hand could reach its destination, another seized his own in a surprisingly sturdy grip.

"That's not a very good idea, young man. I suggest you learn to restrain yourself in the future, lest you do something you'll regret."

Robin glared as he was released, miffed that this man had so easily been able to stop him. He finally said, " You never answered my question."

"Hm?" the man asked distractedly, now working his way through the knots at his ankles.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here? I doubt that Slade lets innocent civilians wander around his house, freeing his prisoners...Unless you're working for him."

"You may call me Wintergreen. That's all you need to know about my identity at this point - and, yes, you could say that I work for Slade."

Robin nodded, filing the information away for later use. If it was a real name, then there was a possibility that this knowledge would come in handy in the future when he was free and ready to track both of these men down. But for now, he'd keep quiet.

Massaging his sore wrists, Robin was finally able to stand up and stretch his aching limbs. Though he hid it well, his legs and hands were trembling slightly with fatigue and the lack of proper nutrition, and the room had started to spin. Wintergreen either didn't notice his swaying or he had just decided to ignore it as he too gracefully got to his feet.

"Follow me,"

The trip back to his room was not nearly as eventful as the one leaving it had been, although Robin did learn a few things about the house on the way there. It appeared that they were walking along the ground floor which looked for all the world to be part of an innocent, albeit enormous, house. By the time they reached the door leading down to the basement, night had fallen and automatic lights were beginning to flicker to life up and down the hallways.

Wintergreen swiped a security card through a steel-grey panel on the side of the door, turning the little light there from red to blue. Robin simply sealed his lips and allowed himself to be led down the stairs and through the winding hallways that led to his roo- his _cell_, noticing as he did so that all other potential pathways were still blocked off. He scowled for a moment until the realization hit him: upstairs, everything had been open and normal-looking. Perhaps the system of barricades was only active down in the basement level, and not in the main house.

When they reached the appropriate door, Wintergreen again used his card to unlock it, along with a several-digit-long code that he shielded from Robin's eyes with his body. There was a quiet little beep as the door swished open and, upon entering, Robin had to consciously keep his jaw from dropping.

Everything was gone. A thin pile of blankets had been tossed carelessly into one of the corners, the blank plaster walls bare and cold, the wooden floor wide and empty. This was perfectly fine with him of course, what he had expected from the beginning really. This was good. No more pretenses. This little cell, hidden from the world and beneath the earth, finally looked the part.

"My, my… It seems that you'll be sleeping on the floor after all." Wintergreen commented from behind him. Robin grit his teeth and said nothing. "The bathroom is still functioning if you want a shower. I'll be back later with a change of clothes and some food. I suggest you _eat it _this time around."

The thick door closed behind him as Wintergreen left him there with the truth of his new reality staring him in the face. Robin's jaw clicked shut and his fingers curled into fists as he stood there silently, head still held high as he scanned the room. Prisoner or not, he was still Robin - and as Robin, he could take anything that Slade or any other villain decided to throw at him... He had to.

* * *

Despite what Wintergreen had said, Robin had half expected for Slade to have left him with either cold water or none at all. But, as he held his hand out beneath the spray to test it, wonderful warm water splashed across his gloveless palm and he gave a nearly inaudible sigh of contentment.

He had had a long internal debate about whether or not he should actually take the shower, knowing that, although he had taken the time to scan every inch of the room for hidden cameras or bugs and found none, there was still a great chance that Slade was somehow watching him from wherever he was hiding now. It wasn't as though he was planning on removing his mask but still… just the thought of his captor watching him as he stood now, without his usual bright costume and only the covering provided by the scratchy towel he had pulled tightly around his waste, made him shudder with revulsion.

Glancing around once more, Robin realized that, unless he decided to just give up on the whole endeavor, there wasn't much more stalling he could do. He already felt ridiculous enough as it was. _It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter…_ He loosened the towel and let it drop to the floor, jumping into the shower stall and yanking the curtain around the moment he was inside. He hated this, having to be so paranoid about such a simple thing, but it wasn't as if there was anything he could do about it as things were.

He scrubbed himself down as quickly as he could, only slowing down and becoming more gentle when he encountered a particularly nasty bruise or cut. Within five minutes he was finished and dry, wrapped once again in just that scrawny towel. When he looked towards the counter where he had placed his dirty uniform, he cursed when he saw that it was empty. He hadn't heard anyone come in at all.

Robin poked his head out into the other room and, seeing that he was still alone, stepped through the bathroom door. In the center of the floor sat a simple cardboard box and, beside it, a single roll of bread and a lump of cheese on a paper plate. Not exactly gourmet, but at this point Robin was willing to eat almost anything. He walked towards it while still maintaining as much dignity as he could manage and forced his attention from the food to the package.

He pulled the flaps aside to find the clothes that Wintergreen had promised him; a simple white T-shirt, cotton grey pants, and a simple pair of boxer shorts. Robin pulled them all on as calmly and hastily as he could before settling down before his meager meal.

As soon as he was finished there, he looked up, not quite knowing what to do with himself. Now that he had put food into his body and had cleaned away all the sweat and grime, he didn't actually feel all that tired, only a bit twitchy with all the suppressed nervous energy. With no one to talk to (or fight with) and nothing to do, Robin decided to arrange the blankets into something resembling a decent bed and settled into them. His mind was buzzing with countless thoughts, questions, and useless escape plans, keeping him awake as he lay there staring at the ceiling until the minutes had long since stretched into hours.

* * *

Beastboy as a bloodhound was trotting along the empty passageway, ears pricked and muzzle pressed to the ground in search of a significant trail. Cyborg followed just behind him with his shoulder flashlight projecting forward into the darkness. The echoes of the other heroes' chatter had died away quickly as they got farther and farther away from the group.

Beastboy suddenly morphed back into a human and looked back up at his comrade, looking as serious as he ever did.

"What's up? Did you find something?" asked Cyborg, coming to a stop as well.

"Nothing." He paused for a moment, contemplating whatever was on his mind. "Hey, Cy? Am I the only one who finds this whole thing with Robin totally creepy?"

The other teen sighed. "No, you're not." said Cyborg gravely. "We all know that he wouldn't just up and leave like this. And Raven says that she's got a bad feeling."

Beastboy snorted, "I could' a told you that. It's just weird, y'know? I mean, how many bad guys are actually still wandering around right now? The only one I didn't see here was Dr. Light!" The boy rolled his eyes and chuckled, the ridiculousness of the notion that Dr. Light was their culprit purely comic. Cyborg started walking again.

"Dr. Light's not the only criminal that wasn't involved in the Brotherhood of Evil's plan…" said Cyborg, voice low and wary. Beast Boy's relatively light expression faded away as it dawned on him.

"You don't think -?"

"I sure as hell hope not. Nobody's seen the guy since that whole End-of-the-World thing with Raven's dad. I'm just putting it out there as a possibility."

The pair turned a sharp corner and found that they were only a couple of yards from the end of the tunnel, the artificial lighting blaring like the sun. Quiet fell again as Beastboy sprinted ahead into the room, Cyborg flicking his light off and following at a jog behind him.

The otherwise empty room was filled with scattered tube-like cells, the conveyor belt running parallel to the room against the wall, now completely still. All of the cylinders were unoccupied.

"Didn't Mas and Menos say that they went through here already?" asked Beastboy.

"Yeah, they said that they didn't find anybody else in here either. We already know that Robin's not here anymore, so what we're looking for now -"

Beastboy interrupted with a near shout, "- Is evidence! Like real detectives in a crime scene, huh?"

Cyborg rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Yeah, we're just like the detectives. Let's just have a poke around and see if we can find anything useful."

Beastboy's eyes suddenly widened as they darted around the room as if he was seeing it for the first time. "Oh man! You mean we have to go through _all these?"_

"You want to find Robin, don't you?" said Cyborg dangerously turning to look down at him.

Beastboy wilted under the glare. "Yeah, but - but - but this'll take forever!"

Cyborg was already making his way towards the nearest cell. "What, did'ja think it was gonna be easy, BB? Just look for his scent, I can handle all the other, more complicated stuff."

"Fine," he pouted, "but when we get home, I demand a vacation!" With that declaration, he transformed once again into his dog form and started snuffling around the base of one of the tubes. An icy silence fell as both teenagers went about their individual forms of investigating, Cyborg using various scanners to look for any hint of unusual activity as the green changling started his sweep of the room.

Beastboy sneezed.

* * *

Robin woke suddenly and practically flew out of his make-shift bed as the heavy door swung open. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep.

He quickly positioned himself in a fighting stance as he saw who it was that stood in his doorway. Slade's one eye stared right back at him, scanning him up and down as the man took in his recent change of clothes and his obvious defensiveness.

"Well?" he said at last, tone demanding and derisive.

"Well what?" Robin snarled.

"It's time for your training, young man, or had you conveniently forgotten all about that?"

Robin's lip curled in anger. "And what makes you think I'd choose to train with you again? I'm not going to play apprentice with you, Slade, I'm sick of it!"

Slade took a few steps into the room and Robin tensed even further, forcing himself not to back away.

"You know, I think I was almost hoping you'd say that."

Before Robin could make a move, the mercenary had lunged forward and had already knocked his fist into the boy's skull, throwing him back and onto the floor. Ears ringing and choking on the blood that had dripped down his throat, Robin tried to roll away as Slade reached down and seized him by the upper arm. The boy was yanked to his feet and dragged out into and down the corridor, kicking, fighting, and snarling the whole way. Slade's grip was hard and unforgiving - there would probably be more bruises later.

"Unfortunately for you, Robin, you don't have much choice in the matter at all."

* * *

**_A/N:_** This is completely inadequate: so freaking SHORT! Gah! But, hey, at least it's something right? And it doesn't suck, right? Right?

Don't listen to me, I'm obsessive compulsive and totally zonked out. I wrote the first paragraph in way back when, y'know, and then everything else happened today over the course of maybe 3 hours. So I write fast, but inconsistently. I will reassure you guys out there that although I am a sporadic and sometimes seemingly non-existant updater, I will come back. I don't drop my stories and I hate it when good authors do. So now you are reassured.

Feed the beast! ^_^

(Also, as of 3/26/2011, I have had this finished for four days now and have been unable to publish it. The woes of an internet author)


	6. AN Urgent Notice!

I sincerely apologize for this 'not an update' update. I wouldn't do something like this unless I thought it was really important - which it is!

Apparently, FFn is actually going to start enforcing the "no sex or violence" policy and are going to start deleting violators. So - what is that - half the site?

Here is the warning, which was spotted on the Homepage a few days ago: "June 4th 2012 - Notices: ◦Please note we would like to clarify the content policy we have in place since 2002. follows the Fiction Rating system ranging from Fiction K to Fiction M. Although Fiction Ratings goes up to Fiction MA, since 2002 has not allowed Fiction MA rated content which can contain adult/explicit content on the site. only accepts content in the Fiction K through Fiction M range. Fiction M can contain adult language, themes and suggestions. Detailed descriptions of physical interaction of sexual or violent nature is considered Fiction MA and has not been allowed on the site since 2002."

I have all of my fics saved to my computer, so if any of it gets deleted, I'll post somewhere else and provide links - or just tell you where they are since FFn hates links. It really sucks because, so far as I've seen, FFn has the most convenient format and the widest range of fandoms of any one site. A lot of these really great stories (especially those in the more obscure fandoms and/or whose authors have abandoned them) are going to just disappear…forever.

So, please, if you think your stories might be deleted, save them to your computer and provide a way for readers to reach them. I've been going through my list of Favorites and Alerts _(taking a long time) _and saving them as well.

The best solution would, of course, be if we stop this from happening in the first place - so sign the petition and save FFn!

www . change petitions / fan fiction - net - stop - the - destruction - of - fan fiction - net


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